inaugural year of the
inaugural year of the BlackCreek Summer Music Festival. Out ofwhole cloth, the festival has had to assemble a chorus for its concertperformances. In the spring, the emails went out advertising workopportunities for choral singers. In this kind of situation, it is reallythe conductor that must pull together the group, quickly giving it anidentity and aesthetic in a short rehearsal period. Listeners can judgewhether or not this has been achieved at an August 27 performanceof Beethoven’s Symphony No.9, with the great London SymphonyOrchestra, conducted by Lorin Maazel.Other festival performances this summer include the ArcadySingers performing Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana at the Boris BrottFestival on August 18, The Elmer Isler Singers at the Festival ofthe Sound (in Parry Sound) on August 6, and numerous concertsby the Elora Festival Singers during the Elora Festival, which runsJuly 8–31.Choirs are often defined by (and sometimes named for) their conductor,such as the aforementioned Elmer Iseler Singers, and morerecently, the relatively new Larkin Singers. One conductor whosepresence is likely to be strongly felt in coming years is the new headof choral conducting at the University of Toronto, Hilary Apfelstadt.Originally from Nova Scotia, she has worked for years in the UnitedStates, at Ohio State University, and has guest conducted all over theworld. She is this year’s conductor for the Ontario Youth Choir, anever-changing group of young singers that assembles each summerto learn choral skills and give concerts. They will be performing onAugust 28 in Toronto.Not so incidentally, Choirs Ontario, which coordinates the OYCprogram, celebrates its 40th anniversary with a gala reception anddinner after this concert. Choirs Ontario has been a staunch supporterof all the diverse choral groups of this region and it is a pleasure tocongratulate them on 40 years of choral activism and advocacy.Ben Stein is a Toronto tenor and theorbist. He can becontacted at choralscene@thewholenote.com.TORONTO CLASSICAL SINGERSCelebrating Our 20 th SeasonBach’s Christmas Oratorio HighlightsSunday, December 4, 2011Vivaldi's Gloria & Schubert's Mass in GSunday, March 4, 2012Verdi's RequiemSunday, May 6, 2012Jurgen Petrenko, ConductorThe Talisker Players OrchestraInterested in joining?Contact us to arrange an AUDITION at:members@torontoclassicalsingers.caOrder tickets at:www.torontoclassicalsingers.ca or 416-443-1490Season tickets: Adult, Senior/StudentSingle tickets: Adult, Senior/Studentwww.fimmq.com/choir 1 855 872-sonySeptember 8, 2011 - 8:00 PM - Sony Centre For The Performing ArtsA PRODUCTION OF THEAUGUST 23-28 201122 thewholenote.comJuly 1–September 7, 2011
Global SummerANDREW TIMAROur annual, semi-tropical season has finally arrived inSouthern Ontario. As well as officially launching the BBQ,road construction and vacation seasons, it also signals a meanaverage increase in world music concerts. The clement weather affordsall of us the opportunity to enjoy music from various cornersof the world performed alfresco, as well as making it easier to travelto outdoor festivals across the province.I’ll be taking advantage of both the good weather and travelopportunities to perform out of town. One gig I look forward to is atthe Electric Eclectics (EE) festival, now in its sixth year.My musical partner,guitar and kacapi(zither) player BillParsons, and I (onsuling) are collectivelyknown as Sunda Duo.We will be performingat the EE’s DJ Tenton Saturday, July 30,2pm. EE is easilySunda Duo.among Ontario’s most unusual summer festivals. In addition tohaving an eclectic programme, its site — a farm overlooking thescenic Beaver Valley, just outside of Meaford, Ontario — is a majordraw. While EE focuses on avant-garde and crossover musicians, artinstallations, DJs and films, this year it is embracing Sunda Duo’sworld music-meets-Toronto-eclectic fusion. Expect to hear WestJavanese (Indonesia) songs combined with our compositions, creatinga special Asian-inflected blend of contemporary Canadian music.Given that the majority of the audience camps out on the EE farm,I’m preparing to enjoy that age-old Ontario summer custom too.The TD Sunfest in London, Ontario, is among our longest runningworld music-friendly festivals. Running from July 7–July 10 atthe relaxed and verdant Victoria Park in the centre of the city, theconcert lineup on the evening of July 7 looks particularly international:Tram des Balkans (France); Mamaku Project (New Zealand);Etran Finatawa (Niger); Novalima (Peru); and Dizu Plaatjies andIbuyambo (South Africa).On July 10 at 4pm, Hindustani classical music reigns at the LivingArts Centre in Mississauga. Headlining are the vocalist Pandit AjoyChakrabarty, and the emerging young master sarod-ist Alam Khan.He is the son of the late, great sarod maestro Ali Akbar Khan.The Huntsville Festival of the Arts is also venturing into worldmusical territory. Arvel Bird performs on Native American fluteand fiddle on July 2; Luis Mario Ochoa Cuban Quintet appears onJuly 28; and the Jesse Cook group plays guitar-centric music withglobal influences on August 18.Of course there’s no need to get out of town to hear world musicMoana and the Tribe come to Harbourfront.this summer. There is plenty of it right in Toronto. Among thegranddaddies of summer programming is the Harbourfront Centre’sseries, this year tilted “Hot Spot Summer.” Each weekend’s festivitiesare keyed to a different concept or national theme. During thefirst weekend, on July 2 at 9:30pm, Systema Solar performs their hotAfro-Caribbean and Colombian music on the Redpath Stage. Thenext day, on the same stage, at 5pm, Moana & the Tribe redefinesinter-island music with an idiosyncratic mix of reggae, funk andMaori music. The cultures of Mexico, Colombia and Iran arefeatured July 8–10, July 15–17 and July 21–24, respectively. “IslandSoul Festival” showcases carnival, pan (steel drums ensemble), poetryand dance July 29–August 1. One of the more intriguingly namedthree-day festivals is “What is Classical?” running August 5–7. I’mcurious how the curators will explore the diverse forms of ‘classical’music from the Americas, the Middle East and East Asia.August 19–21, South Asia’s turn comes with “Masala! Mendi! Masti!”Harbourfront audiences can explore Taiwan’s emergence as a sourcefor both new and old artistic expressions August 26–28.The annual summer series at the lakeshore Toronto Music GardenJuly 1–September 7, 2011 thewholenote.com 23
